The invention relates to building construction and particularly to rain gutters which are commonly used along the edge of the roofs of buildings to direct runoff water from the roof. It is important to direct the flow of such water to avoid drenching people passing beneath the edge of the roof and to avoid depositing water adjacent to the foundation. The latter is important to avoid having water passing through the foundation and into the basement or crawl space underneath the building.
Conventional rain gutter construction usually involves the use of aluminum gutters which are rigid and substantially permanently installed on an edge of the roof of the building. Such gutters commonly involve maintenance problems including cleaning leaves from the gutters and more importantly, procedures for clearing snow or ice from the gutters. In cold climates it is very common to have electric resistance heaters to avoid the buildup of snow and ice and subsequent back up of water under the roofing material of the building. Such procedures are unsatisfactory in an energy conscious era. Even if only considered from an energy standpoint it is undesirable to operate such electric resistance heaters for long periods of time. In many climates with conventional gutter construction there is no viable alternative to such heaters because the failure to use such heaters will often result in building damage due to the passage of water under the roofing material. Convention rain gutters can be removed. However, this is not satisfactory because there is considerable work involved and the gutters are subject to damage including bending and other distortions which may cause subsequent leakage and be unsightly.
It is a primary object of the invention to provide apparatus which will eliminate problems associated with water backing up under the roofing material as a result of the accumulation of snow, ice, and leaves in the rain gutters.
It is another object of the invention to eliminate the necessity for completely taking down conventional rain gutters to eliminate such problems.
It is another object of the invention to eliminate the requirement for supplemental resistance heaters which require a continuing source of energy.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide apparatus which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and to utilize.